Knowing the full story, Ferdinand immediately took action.Although he didn't think much of those flour capitalists, he still extended some goodwill, and Volvo added several more brands of flour.
At the same time, he decided to teach Koterfei Department Store a lesson and establish his position in the industry.
Ferdinand's in-depth investigation revealed that while Koterfei was a giant in the Austro-Hungarian Empire's department store industry, its financial situation was not very good.
It still operated on a traditional, family-managed model, increasingly unable to keep up with the times.The current head was Robert Held, an Austrian, less than 30 years old.
Robert was ambitious and disapproved of Koterfei Department Store's traditional operating model, pushing for progress, which led to a strained relationship with the company's management.
However, because it was a family business, most of Koterfei Department Store's senior executives were relatives, including his two uncles and one younger brother, who also held a significant portion of the shares.
Robert had pushed for entry into the supermarket sector to break free from the constraints of the management.
Of course, Ferdinand was unsure what role those flour capitalists played in this.
Having understood the opponent's situation, Ferdinand assigned this task to Franz.
To be honest, Ferdinand didn't think highly of Robert; while capable, he was clearly overly eager for success.Given Koterfei Department Store's current situation, it shouldn't blindly launch new projects, dispersing its limited energy; the most important thing was internal structural reform.
Even if it were to enter, it shouldn't choose this time to do so, and even if it entered now, it shouldn't choose Vienna.
This was the most competitive period for Vienna's retail industry, which would consume Koterfei Department Store's currently limited resources.
Not only did Robert enter the market now, but he also focused on Vienna, opening ten supermarkets simultaneously, creating a huge buzz.
Two of these were reorganized department stores, whose size and luxurious decoration were unparalleled in Vienna.
Volvo had reached a point where it was time to reap the rewards; with support from other regional markets, Ferdinand could afford the attrition, and small capitalists would certainly be the first to fall.
As Koterfei Department Store's supermarkets aggressively entered the market, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, and surprisingly, large supermarkets were the first to buckle.
Their high operating costs and large customer traffic were usually good things, as customers meant profit, but now, the more they sold, the more they lost.
Small, financially weak retailers were the first to withdraw.On May 18, 1884, Qatar Department Store Supermarket, unable to withstand prolonged losses, declared bankruptcy, sounding the death knell.
Within the next week, another department store supermarket named Philip also declared bankruptcy.
Then, it became unstoppable, with supermarkets closing down every few days.
By this point, no one in Vienna could remain unscathed; all supermarkets entered a state of negative profitability, it was merely a question of how much they lost.
Volvo was no exception; even with its vast network keeping costs down, its few stores in Vienna were now operating at a loss.
The five stores in Vienna were losing an average of three hundred pounds per month each, which was considered a small loss compared to competitors.
Koterfei Department Store Supermarket, having just entered the market, suffered greatly; large investments meant large losses.
Coupled with Koterfei's continuation of its department store's grand style, its stores had luxurious decorations and an unreasonable layout, wasting a lot of space and increasing operating costs, making its current situation dire.
Ferdinand admitted that Robert was indeed talented; the luxurious decorations attracted a large number of customers, including a significant portion of the middle class, who were considered high-quality customers, leading to booming business.
Unfortunately, it was 1884, not the 21st century; the number of middle-class people in Vienna was limited and could not support a large department store supermarket.
To capture market share, Koterfei also had to follow suit with price reductions, or rather, it had been offering discounts since opening, losing more each day with no end in sight.
Franz was not to be underestimated; he first mobilized employees from the Shuanghui Food Group to shop at Koterfei Department Store Supermarket, and thousands of people flocked there, instantly bringing Koterfei immense popularity.
Even the products purchased were predetermined, then secretly transported to other cities in Vienna, and sold through Volvo stores to earn the price difference, initially yielding a slight profit that offset the losses of the Vienna stores.
Robert was in a very bad mood now; in one week, the vase in his office had been replaced three times.
Originally, seeing the promising prospects of department store supermarkets, and with the support of Hungarian flour capitalists, he eagerly entered the market, which then led to a path of losses.
Losses were acceptable; Robert had prepared himself for them, considering them an initial investment for popularity, but he never expected business to be so good, and the losses to be equally massive.
Of Koterfei's ten stores in Vienna, the smallest one lost over eight hundred pounds last month, and the largest flagship store recorded a staggering loss of three thousand pounds.
It was only because Koterfei was a large and established company that it could endure; an ordinary person would have long since given up and exited the price war.
Currently, department store supermarket products were directly discounted by 5% from the factory price; Volvo initiated this, and then powerful merchants followed suit.
If operating costs were added, the loss amount generally reached about ten percent of sales, meaning the more they sold, the more they lost.
Koterfei Department Store Supermarket could now proudly announce that it was the leading department store supermarket in Vienna, with the largest market share, far surpassing second-ranked Volvo.
Precisely because of this, the atmosphere at Koterfei Department Store was very tense.
Even with a majority stake, Robert's life was not easy; Koterfei Department Store Supermarket lost as much as fifteen thousand pounds last month, and there were signs of it increasing this month.
Even if the department store side was still profitable, it couldn't fill this bottomless pit.
At this point, it was no longer a matter of simply wanting to withdraw; Koterfei had already invested eighty thousand pounds in the department store supermarket project.
Robert decided to confront the shareholders; since things were already this way, he threw caution to the wind.
Either they directly abandon the eighty thousand pounds invested earlier, losing everything and severely weakening Koterfei Department Store, or they continue to invest, first squeezing out a group of competitors, then allowing the market to normalize and recoup the lost money.
In the Koterfei Department Store conference room, the atmosphere was heavy, and the dozen or so attendees puffed on cigars, quickly filling the room with smoke.
"Alright, everyone is here, so today's meeting begins."Robert had lost his usual composure.